Handcuffs (Shorebeat File Photo/ banspy/ Flickr)
A Toms River man who is employed as a police officer in North Jersey has been charged with vehicular homicide after prosecutors alleged he was responsible for the deaths of two people in a horrific motor vehicle accident.
John P. McClave III, 34, a resident of Toms River and a sworn member of the Hillside Police Department, is charged with two counts of second-degree vehicular homicide that resulted from a crash last fall, according to a statement from prosecutors issued Friday.
Shortly before 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, members of the Tinton Falls Police Department and Wayside Fire Company in Monmouth County responded to a report of a collision that had taken place on Asbury Avenue, in the area of the Garden State Parkway overpass.
Upon arrival, officers encountered the two involved vehicles: a 2018 GMC Canyon pickup truck driven by McClave, and a 2020 Toyota Corolla driven by 40-year-old Angel L. Acevedo, Jr. of Baltimore, Md.
Acevedo and his wife, 35-year-old Daniela Correia Salles, sustained multiple severe injuries and were both pronounced dead at the scene. McClave was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center for treatment of serious, but not life-threatening, injuries.
A fatal accident unit of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office investigated and found that McClave, according to the statement, “was driving his vehicle recklessly while under the influence of intoxicating substances at the time of the collision.” The investigation further determined that McClave’s vehicle “did not change direction or slow down significantly after it left the Parkway lanes, resulting in his vehicle becoming airborne upon hitting an embankment, eventually striking the car occupied by the victims.”
McClave was additionally issued summonses for reckless driving, failure to maintain lanes, failure to wear a seatbelt, and having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle.
The Prosecutor’s Office is filing a motion to have McClave detained pending the resolution of the case.
“This officer’s actions on the night of the collision far crossed the line separating passive negligence from active criminality, and as a result, a married couple have lost their lives,” Acting Prosecutor Lori Linskey said. “We hope today’s announcement brings their loved ones some semblance of solace in knowing that the first steps have been taken towards achieving justice.”
If convicted of the second-degree offense, McClave would be subject to a term of up to 10 years in state prison, with 85 percent of the term to be served before the possibility of parole for each count, according to the provisions of New Jersey’s No Early Release Act.
Anyone with information about the matter is still urged to contact Prosecutor’s Office Detective Kristian DeVito toll-free at 1-800-533-7443 or Tinton Falls Police Department Patrolman David Ebert at 732-542-4422.
A photograph of McClave was not available.
